Show Notes
In this episode, we explore Solomon as an occult authority in the Islamicate world: from the Quranic stories of Sulayman commanding the jinn and the winds, to the legendary Seal of Solomon, to his role in Islamic magic, talismans, letter science (ʿilm al-ḥurūf), and grimoires. We’ll look at how the Quran itself deals with Solomon and magic (Surah al-Baqarah 2:102), the figure of Asaf ibn Barkhiya, and how Solomonic lore became a foundation for the Islamic occult sciences, and ultimately influenced Western esoteric traditions as well.
Find me and my music here: https://linktr.ee/filipholm
Support Let's Talk Religion on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/letstalkreligion Or through a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/talkreligiondonate
Sources/Recommended Reading:
Al-Buni, Ahmad ibn ‘Ali. “The Sun of Knowledge (Shams al-Ma’arif): An Arabic Grimoire in Selected Translation”. Translated by Amina Inloes & Illustrated by J.M. Hamade. Revelore Press, 2021.
Coulon, Jean-Charles (2022). “Amulets and Talismans in the Earliest Works of the Corpus Bunianum”. In “Amulets and Talismans of the Middle East and North Africa in Context” (Edited by Marcela A. Garcia & Petra M. Sijpesteijn). Brill.
Coulon, Jean-Charles (2022). "Salomon dans les traités de magie arabes médiévaux*". Le roi Salomon au Moyen Âge: Savoirs et représentations, éd. par Jean-Patrice Boudet, Jean-Charles Coulon, Philippe Faure et Julien Véronèse, Turnhout, 2022 (Bibliothèque d’histoire culturelle du Moyen Âge, 22), p. 55-78.
Gardiner, Noah (2012). “Forbidden Knowledge? Notes on the production, transmission, and reception of the major works of Ahmad al-Buni”. Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies 12 (2012). University of Michigan.
Gardiner, Noah (2017). “Esotericist Reading Communities and the Early Circulation of the Sufi Occultist Aḥmad al-Būnī’s Works”. Arabica 64 (2017) 405-441. Brill.
Melvin-Koushki, Matthew & Noah Gardner (2017). "Islamicate Occultism: New Perspectives". Brill.
Saif, Liana (2015). "The Arabic Influences on Early Modern Occult Philosophy". Palgrave Macmillan.
Saif, Liana; Francesca Leoni; Matthew Melvin-Koushki & Farouk Yahya (2021). "Islamicate Occult Sciences in Theory and Practice". Brill.
Savage-Smith, Emily (ed.) (2004). "Magic & Divination in Early Islam". Ashgate Publishing.
“Shams al-Ma’arif al-Kubra”. Arabic Printed Edition by Dar al-Mizan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Let's Talk Religion
Iblis (Satan) refused to bow to Adam, and the Qur’an condemns him for it. But some of the most daring Sufi mystics read that refusal very differently: as the act of a perfect monotheist and a tragic lover who would not bow to anything but God, even at the cost of eternal separation. In this video we explore how Iblis was reinterpreted in Islamic mysticism, from Mansur al-Hallaj’s Kitab al-Tawasin to the Persian “School of Love” (madhhab-i ‘ishq) of Ahmad Ghazali and ‘Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani.
What is the Anqa? In this episode we explore the Anqa (عنقاء), the elusive, legendary bird of Arabic and Islamic tradition, often compared to the phoenix and the Persian Simurgh. We look at its origins in pre-Islamic Arabian lore, the story of how it vanished from the world, and how "the Anqa of the West" (ʿanqāʾ mughrib) became a proverb for something that exists in name but can never be found. We also trace how Sufi mystics like Ibn ʿArabi and Farid al-Din ʿAttar turned this mythical creature into a powerful symbol of the hidden, the unknowable, and the divine.
In this episode, we explore the fascinating history of alchemy in the Islamic(ate) world, from the writings of Jabir ibn Hayyan, to the Emerald Tablet, Abu Bakr al-Razi & the Sufis.
Ibn 'Arabi's famous "Religion of Love" verses are some of the most striking lines in Islamic mysticism - a declaration that the heart can take the form of every temple, church, and shrine. In this episode, we do a deep dive into the poem itself, its context in the Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, and what it reveals about Ibn 'Arabi's views on love, God, and universality in Sufi thought.
The House of Wisdom (Bayt al-Hikma) is one of the most mythologized institutions in history, but what do the actual medieval sources say? In this video, we separate legend from evidence, tracing what the House of Wisdom really was in Abbasid Baghdad & what role it played in the translation movement.